Posts tagged “Lincoln Bible”

During his second Inauguration on Monday, President Barack Obama used not one, but two King James Bibles. One of the books was the Lincoln Bible, used during his first inauguration. The Lincoln Bible is currently housed in the collection of the Library of Congress and includes a note stating that this is the Bible used by Lincoln for his swearing-in as President on March 4, 1861. You can learn more about the Lincoln Bible from the Library of Congress’ blog post.

The second Bible belonged to Dr. Martin Luther King and accompanied him on many of his travels. “We know our father would be deeply moved to see President Obama take the Oath of Office using his bible,” Dr. King’s children said in a statement. “His ‘traveling bible’ inspired him as he fought for freedom, justice and equality, and we hope it can be a source of strength for the President as he begins his second term.”

Barack Obama is not the first president to use more than one Bible while taking the oath of office. Richard Nixon and Dwight D. Eisenhower both used two Bibles during their inauguration ceremonies. You can watch Barack Obama’s second inaugural address here.

Amy Arden assisted in the development and production of the Manifold Greatness website and Family Guide. She is a Communications Associate at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.

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Manifold Greatness:
The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible
has been made possible in part
by a major grant from the
National Endowment for the Humanities: Because democracy demands wisdom.

The Manifold Greatness website has been awarded the 2012 RBMS Leab Exhibition Award in the “electronic exhibition” category. Learn more about the award from this American Library Association announcement.